Fish farming in Vihiga County picking up

Mr. Teddy Nyanapa, the Farm Africa coordinator , led his team as they educated farmers in Vihiga further on issues dealing with fish farming

Farm Africa, a non-governmental organization dealing with fish farming in Kenya in conjunction with the Department of Fisheries in the Ministry of Agriculture in Vihiga, has set up a field day to fish farmers in the region to enlighten them concerning the new fish farming techniques.

Speaking during the exercise that was held at the farm of Mrs Zinah Kedem at Boyani in Hamisi Sub County, Mr Teddy Nyanapa, a Coordinator from Farm Africa, said the organization’s mandate is to make sure farmers from the region embrace fish farming and use the best current methods to improve on it.

“We are working hand in hand with the County government to ensure more youth are engaged in fish farming as a way of reducing unemployment among them in the area,” said Nyanapa.

The issue of food security in the country is still a major factor but fish farming if well embraced, can solve the problem. “As an organization, we want to link the fish farmers to the market and make sure they get profits from their sales,” said Nyanapa.

He said they work closely with the government to make sure the policies that are implemented are favourable to the industry and make sure fish farming thrives in the country.

The Director in the Department of fisheries in Vihiga County Mr Stephen Njau said there are 2,500 fish farmers in the County and the Department is working to make sure the numbers increase.

He said the most used fish farming method in the area is the semi-intensive fish farming method where farmers use natural foods to feed the fish. Njau noted that tilapia/Nile tilapia and African cat fish are the only species of fish farmers in the region rear.

He added that they have extension workers per every sub county who are mandated to offer services to the farmers and help them improve. “We are keen on going closer to farmers and ensure they get the deserved services to better fish farming in the region” Njau reiterated. Njau called on the County government to allocate more funds to the department to enable it provide needed services to the farmers.